Copper and copper alloys are highly versatile engineering materials available in the market today. Their numerous properties make them suitable for a wide range of applications in many fields.
Copper is an excellent electrical conductor, and most of its uses are based on or around this property. Copper, however has many other useful properties such as corrosion resistance, ductility, and good thermal conductivity.
Copper has been used by man since prehistoric times. Overtime the metal’s numerous properties were discovered and exploited in various fields. Properties such as excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, and ductility, make copper a highly sought after metal.
Copper and its alloys play a vital part in our lives. We depend on them for power, water supply, heating, communications, lighting, and transport. They can be found in many household commodities such water pipes, locks, phones, and electrical wiring.
Copper and its alloys are suitable for a wide range of applications due to their unique properties of strength, corrosion resistance, conductivity, machinability, and ductility. These properties can be additionally enhanced using variations in manufacturing processes and compositions.
Copper mining has been in progress for more than 10,000 years. It is found in the minerals malachite, azurite, cuprite, chalcopyrite and bornite. Large deposits of copper ore are located in Chile, Peru, Zaire, Zambia, and Canada and the United States.
A copper alloy is an alloy with copper as its primary metal, which is mixed with different alloying elements to provide a range of materials designed to maximize characteristics such as ductility, strength, machinability, formability, or electrical conductivity.
Evidence regarding the usage of copper has been recorded since prehistoric times. Overtime the metal’s many properties were discovered and widely applied in several sectors such as architecture, building, marine, and medical.
Unlike iron, which has been in use for over a thousand years, stainless steel is a relative newcomer to the materials science world, having first been produced only 100 years ago.
By G.P. Thomas
17 May 2013
Traditionally, there was little variance between rod rigging suppliers, but in today’s composite rigging world with a suite of composites, there are more options available in material selection and style of construction.